West Ham United skipper Mark Noble, has stated that the Hammers need to "dig in and win games" ahead of Saturday's crucial clash with fellow strugglers Crystal Palace.

Need to dig in

West Ham's form has been patchy so far in the current campaign, especially in the last few weeks, and it came to boiling point on Friday night when they welcomed Manchester City in the third round of the FA Cup.

Goals from Yaya Toure, Havard Nordtveit, David Silva, Sergio Aguero and John Stones gave Pep Guardiola's side a comfortable 5-0 victory, bringing on a heap of criticism and pressure to Slaven Bilic and his men.

The return of former manager Sam Allardyce on Saturday will be a crucial clash for the Hammers. Though he expects a good reception for Allardyce, Noble stated that the home side need to dig in and collect the three points.

“We have played against Sam before," Noble told whufc.com. "Football moves on so fast and Sam will enjoy coming back."

“He had a great time here as manager," the skipper stressed. "What he did for this football club getting us promoted and helping stay in the Premier League."

"He should be well respected," he stated. “We have now got two big games coming up that we want to get points out of."

Noble concluded: "Everyone needs to dig in and win games.”

Enjoying myself

The FA Cup journey also ended for a fellow Hammer over the weekend, with youngster Martin Samuelsen making a brief appearance in Peterborough United's 4-1 defeat to Chelsea.

Samuelsen returned to London Road this January, after a loan spell at EFL Championship side Blackburn Rovers failed to prove beneficial for the young Norwegian.

The 19-year-old made 20 appearances for the Posh on loan last season, and shared his delight to return to Grant McCann's side.

"I was just learning from playing with the best,” he said after Sunday's defeat. “Chelsea are a good team and passed the ball well and even with ten men they did the same."

“I think in the beginning we had chances to score at nil-nil," the youngster admitted. "But that’s the difference between the best and the other teams."

“I’m enjoying myself,” he confirmed. “I’ve been here for two games now and played for 90 minutes in the first game [in a 1-1 draw at Scunthorpe United] and got 35 at Stamford Bridge."

“I know Peterborough and it was one of the main reasons I came here again," the Norwegian concluded. "I know the manager, the players and the coaching staff and they’ve got a good thing going on here.”

West Ham United will take on Crystal Palace at the London Stadium on Saturday, January 14 with kick-off at 3pm GMT.